He's Bad News, In The Best Way
by WalkWithShadows
Summary: Scorpius, the rugged, handsome playboy; Rose, the gorgeous goody-goody. What happens when they fall for each other? Rated M for later chapters. Set in an alternate universe with no magic.
1. Chapter 1

'Scorp, come on,' Felicity Witt cried as she followed Scorpius Malfoy through the school parking lot. Her dull brown ponytail bounced with each step she took as she tried to match his pace. 'I know we can work things out! We just need to talk about it!'

Rose Weasley leaned back against Scorpius' truck and watched, amused, as the tall blonde rolled his eyes. Hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket, he whirled around to face the short, stout, chubby-cheeked sophomore. Her green eyes were full of hope as she gazed up at him.

'Felicity, it's not going to work. I can't see it happening,' he sighed, unsuccessfully trying to hide the irritation in his voice. 'Sorry,' he added, lacking sincerity. With that, he pivoted on his heel and walked off, leaving Felicity standing by herself in the parking lot, her jaw dropped in disbelief, as if she couldn't understand why he wouldn't want to be with her. Ignoring people's stares, Felicity pouted and stormed off, her cheeks flushed.

'Wow, another one,' Rose teased as Scorpius approached the truck, head held high. 'That's, what, the third girl this week? Are you going for the record or something?'

'Shut it,' Scorpius huffed, yanking the truck door open and climbing inside. The redhead smirked, flipping her curls over her shoulder with a manicured hand and joining the blonde in the truck.

'Someone's in a bad mood,' she said, pulling the seatbelt across her delicate body. 'Did you forget to have your bowl of Cheerios this morning?'

Scorpius rolled his eyes and Rose laughed. As Mrs Weasley and Mrs Malfoy had been co-workers and hence good friends since Rose and Scorpius had only been little, the two had practically grown up together, and since they were young Rose had always found great enjoyment in taking the mickey out of Scorpius. As well as this, Scorpius and Rose lived no more than a few streets away from each other and so Scorpius had been asked to take Rose to and from school, as she hadn't yet obtained her licence and her parents worked late; she found this as good an opportunity as any to mock him.

The blonde ignored her as per usual, and slithered out of his jacket, dumping it into her lap. Rolling her eyes, Rose dropped it on the floor.

'Pick that up!' Scorpius barked.

'Sure thing, Scorp,' Rose said, leaning forward to turn on the radio.

'God, how many times have I told you not to call me Scorp?'

'Oh, I don't know. Twelve?'

'Why are you such a smartass?' Scorpius said. His brow was furrowed in impatience.

Rose laughed softly and, still smirking, looked sideways at him. Scorpius was tall and slim, but with a solid build. His tousled blonde hair fell messily onto his face, into his grey eyes, and he pushed it back with his fingers. The white T-shirt he was wearing showed off his sculpted body, and Rose caught herself staring.

Scorpius clicked his fingers in front of her face. 'Hello?'

Rose blinked. 'What?'

Now it was his turn to smirk. 'Oh my God,' he said. 'Were you checking me out?'

'Oh, please,' Rose scoffed, turning up the volume on the radio and humming along.

'Whatever,' Scorpius said, amused. 'What is this crap?'

'I'm sorry; I think you mispronounced the word 'ingeniousness'.' Rose said.

'No, I definitely meant to say 'crap'.'

'This from the guy who listens to stupid emo screamo,' Rose retorted. Scorpius burst out into exaggerated laughter.

'Stupid emo screamo,' he repeated. 'Oh, Rose, your ignorance delights me.'

'I'm sorry?'

'First of all,' Scorpius said very matter-of-factly. 'I listen to rock, not metal – or 'emo screamo' as you so open-mindedly call it. Much of the music to which I listen does not involve harsh vocals. Second of all, I bet that if you just gave this genre of music a chance, you'd probably like it.'

Rose raised an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed. 'Right,' she said. 'It's too bad we'll never find out, isn't it?'

'You're so narrow-minded,' he replied, rolling his eyes. 'Seriously, just give it a listen. If you don't like it, I'll pay you.'

'Alright, fifty bucks,' Rose said, not expecting Scorpius to agree.

'Deal,' he said.

After a few minutes of silence, apart from the song on the radio, the truck pulled up at Rose's house and she opened the door, hopping out. 'Fine, give me a song to listen to, then.'

Scorpius gave her the name of a song. 'It's awesome,' he assured her.

'Uh huh.' Rose doubted it. She gave him a short 'bye' and closed the door. As if she was actually going to listen to the song. No, she'd just tell Scorpius that she hated it, and score herself fifty bucks; provided, of course, that Scorpius kept up his end of the bargain.

As she walked to the front door, she heard the loud humming of the truck's engine as Scorpius drove off down the street.

**X**

'Finally, Friday's here.' Ron announced happily, pulling off his tie and blazer and dropping them on the arm of the couch.

Rose looked up from the pot on the stove. 'Hey, Dad,' she smiled.

Ron kissed his daughter on the cheek and sat down at the kitchen table. 'Where's Hugo?'

'Upstairs, doing his homework,' Rose replied. 'How was work?'

'Ah, same old,' he said.

Rose nodded and tapped the spoon against the edge of the pot, placing it on the sink and joining her father at the table.

'Say,' Ron said. 'How's that boy? Uh, Scorpius, is it?'

'Uh … he's fine, I guess …' Rose told her father.

'You two aren't dating, are you?'

'What! Of course not, Dad!'

'Oh, good,' Ron said, as if relieved. 'And he hasn't made a move on you, has he?'

Rose raised her eyebrows and snorted a laugh. 'Uh, no.'

'Good. You let me know if he does, and I'll—'

'Take to his nuts with a cricket bat, I know, Dad.' Rose interrupted. She'd heard this many a time before, and not just about Scorpius.

Ron chuckled. 'Atta girl.'

Rose smiled at her father. He could be such a dag sometimes, but she loved him.

At that moment, both Rose's mother Hermione opened the front door, and her fifteen-year-old brother Hugo clomped downstairs and into the kitchen, texting as he went.

'Hey, Mum,' Rose called out.

'Ronald!' Hermione yelled from the lounge room. 'How many times have I told you to hang your blazer in the closet when you get home from work?'

Ron gave an exaggerated sigh, making Rose giggle. Hermione entered the kitchen, her heels clacking against the floor boards.

'Oh,' she smiled, noticing her children sitting at the table. 'Hello, Rosie, Hugo.'

'Hey, Mum,' Hugo mumbled, looking down at his phone. He didn't avert his gaze from the device as Hermione kissed his forehead.

'That smells great, Rose,' Hermione said, taking a seat at the table.

'Yeah,' Ron agreed. 'What are we having?'

'Spaghetti,' Rose said. Hugo looked up at his sister. 'Yes, just for you, Hugo.'

'Thanks, sis. Let me know when it's ready.' With that, he retreated to his bedroom, leaving Rose in the kitchen with her parents.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose's usual Saturday routine was to meet up with a friend or a date during the day, and then either attend a family dinner, a sleepover or a party that night. However, having broken up with her last boyfriend three weeks prior and not having arranged anything with her friends, Rose found herself free of plans. It was a good thing too; with four assignments due throughout the week, as well as homework and study for other subjects, Rose couldn't afford to lose any of her time.

Having inherited her mother's brains, Rose was intelligent and she knew that it wouldn't take too long to complete all the work if she could find the motivation. That was the problem though; when there was homework to be done, she found practically anything interesting.

After a long, warm shower to wake herself up, and reading the newspaper over a plate of pancakes, she figured that she should at least start with one of her assignments. Heading down to the study, Rose started up the computer, staring vacantly at the wall as she waited for it to turn on. She began typing quickly ideas popped into her head. But after three paragraphs, she stopped, unsure of what to write next.

After about ten minutes of staring at the page, she pulled up YouTube. There was no point in wasting her time staring blankly at what she'd done, trying, to no avail to come up with more. Right?

Somehow, in the time period of seventeen minutes, Rose went from looking at videos of cats to listening to music from bands she'd never heard of before. Eventually, the song that Scorpius had told her to listen to came to mind. She sat back in the desk chair, biting down thoughtfully on her lip as she tried to remember the name of the band.

She tapped her fingers on the keys, typing in the name. A list opened beneath the search bar. Rose moved the mouse to click on the name of the song that Scorpius had suggested, but just as she clicked on it, Hermione called her from the front door.

'Rose!'

'Yeah, Mum?' she replied.

'Could you come and help me with the shopping, please?'

'Just a second,' Rose called back. She closed the internet and saved what she'd done on her assignment, and went outside to help her mother carry in the groceries.

**X**

In the evening, rain drummed down on the roof of the Weasley household. Rose pulled the blanket around her shoulders as she continued typing her assignment on the laptop. She looked up out the window. Dark clouds shrouded the late afternoon sky, and the window was covered in little droplets of water.

Rose loved this weather, especially when she was tucked up in bed watching a movie with a hot chocolate. Writing an essay wasn't exactly ideal, but whatever.

After an hour, Rose decided to take a break and listen to that no doubt terrible song. Again, she opened the internet and searched it.

The song began loudly, with drums crashing and banging and the guitar playing a riff that Rose decided sounded rather demonic, quite honestly. Having been startled by the sudden, loud opening, Rose discontinued listening. She exited the internet, smirking a little. She couldn't even get past the start of the song; that fifty bucks was hers. Rose, one: Scorpius, nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite hating the song, Rose found herself humming along to the tune the next day, as she printed off her work.

And again as she was helping Hermione with dinner.

And again as she washed her hair.

Eventually, the redhead caught herself listening to the song a second time. She couldn't get it out of her head. It was like it had planted itself into her mind.

Monday morning came along quickly. Rose made sure to keep Scorpius waiting out the front in his car for as long as possible, without actually being late to school. She continued straightening her hair, had a drink, fixed her makeup, and flipped through all her assignments to ensure that she hadn't forgotten any of them.

Finally, she threw her floral patterned bag over her shoulder and made her way out the front, walking down the driveway at a leisurely pace. From inside the car, she saw Scorpius rolling his eyes in impatience, but he didn't try to hurry her. He knew it was no use, as he was well aware of the fact that she only did it to irritate him.

Rose opened the truck door and pulled herself inside. 'Hey, Scorp.'

Scorpius ignored the nickname. 'Did you end up listening to the song?' he asked.

'Yep,' Rose replied, looking down at her nails.

'And?'

'You owe me fifty bucks,' she said shortly.

'You seriously didn't like it?' Scorpius said, pulling out his wallet. Rose snorted.

'Don't sound so shocked. I told you I wouldn't, did I not?' she said, rolling her eyes. Scorpius handed her a fifty dollar note, and she tucked it into the pocket of her jeans.

**X**

The lunchtime bell chimed. Rose's English teacher dismissed the class, reminding them of their homework as they filed out the door and into the sea of students in the hall.

Rose opened her locker and placed her books neatly inside, making sure that they were all standing up side-by-side in alphabetical order.

'Don't you get tired of having doing that every day?' Scorpius' deep voice sounded from behind her. Rose rolled her eyes and spun around.

'Doing what?' she asked.

'Rearranging your books, making sure they're always in order.'

'What I do is none of your business, Scorpius. Besides, I like being able to actually find my books when I need them.'

'Hey, no need to get snippy. I was just asking a question.' Scorpius said defensively.

'Well doesn't it get tiring having to turn your locker upside looking for a single book? It makes you late for class practically every day.'

'No, Rose. I'm late to class because I don't _want _to go to class. Having to find the shit that I need is just a bonus.'

Rose sighed. 'What do you want?'

'I have another song that you should listen to.'

Rose scoffed. 'Why bother? You're just going to lose another fifty. It's like you're asking me to take your money.'

'I'm positive you'll like this one.'

'Why do you want me to like your music so badly?'

'I'm trying to broaden your musical horizon. You should be thanking me.'

Rose rolled her eyes again. Behind Scorpius' shoulder, she spotted her friend Valeria leaning against a locker and waiting for Rose to be done with her conversation with Scorpius. The redhead looked back at Scorpius.

'I have to go. Later,' she said shortly, walking past the tall blonde to greet Valeria.

'Hey,' Valeria said. 'What did he want?' she motioned towards Scorpius, who had begun walking off in the opposite direction.

'He's trying to convince me to listen to his awful music.' Rose smirked.

Valeria snorted a laugh. 'There's a better chance of my dad taking a liking to Beau than you listening to that kind of music. Come on, everyone's wondering where you are.'


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey, guys! I'm so sorry about this chapter, honestly. It took me a long time to think of an idea for the first part of this chapter, and an even longer time to write it. In the end, I just wanted to post it. I apologise if it kind of sucks. Anyway, enjoy! I'll try and update more often now that I'm on holidays. **

The final bell sounded, signalling the end of the day. Rose grabbed her floral print bag and flung it over her shoulder, making her way to Scorpius' truck to wait for him.

As she pushed through the clusters of clichéd high school cliques, the redhead came across the notice board and on it, a signup sheet that caught her attention. The signup sheet was for the upcoming drama production that the school produced annually. Rose had participated in previous years with Valeria and a couple of her other friends, and they had always enjoyed it. This year, it was Shakespeare's _Much Ado About Nothing_. So far, there were only three other names on the list, two of them girls.

Valeria appeared beside Rose, Beau's arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her gently into his side. Valeria's arm was around Beau's waist.

'Hey, guys,' Rose said.

'Ooh, I was wondering when they were going to announce the next production,' Valeria grinned, looking at the signup sheet. 'Put me down.'

Rose jotted her own name down below the other three and Valeria's beneath it. She looked up at her friend's boyfriend. 'Beau?'

He looked down at Valeria, who grinned hopefully back up at him. He exhaled softly as if contemplating the idea. 'Sure, why not?' he said finally, half-smirking.

Rose added his name to the list. At that moment, Scorpius strutted past. 'Lame!' he called, noticing Rose standing by the signup sheet. The redhead rolled her eyes at him and tossed her scarlet curls over her shoulder.

'How would he know if it's lame? He's never been involved in a production before.'

Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. She looked at Valeria, who was apparently thinking the same thing as her.

'Put him on the list,' she smirked.

Rose picked up the pen and scrawled the arrogant blonde's named on the list. It would do him good.

She said goodbye to her friends and made her way outside to Scorpius' truck. She pulled open the door and climbed in, smirking involuntarily.

Scorpius eyed her suspiciously. 'What're you smirking at?'

'Nothing,' she said, turning on the radio.

**X**

The next day the school was called into the auditorium for an assembly. Mr Drummond waltzed up to the podium, introducing himself as the director of the school production. Wearing a pale blue shirt buttoned all the way up, a patterned bowtie, slim beige trousers and loafers, he was rather funnily dressed but Rose had to admit that it suited him.

'Could the following students see me after this assembly in regards to practice times for the production and any other information: Lindsey Mantle; Evie Mantle; James Alton; Rose Weasley; Valeria Poxleitner; Beau Barham; Scorpius Malfoy; Imogen Fowler; and Seth Glass.'

Following the assembly, the small cluster of students gathered before Mr Drummond to hear what he had to say. Scorpius looked remarkably bewildered at being called back.

Mr Drummond ran through the details of practices and such before dismissing the students. Scorpius stayed back. Rose watched with Valeria from the auditorium foyer.

'Sir, I didn't sign up for this,' he told Mr Drummond.

'You'd think he'd have caught on,' Rose said to Valeria.

'Well – Scorpius, is it? Well, Scorpius, if you didn't put your name down, then who did?' he questioned, one eyebrow raised.

'I think I know,' he muttered.

'Well, I'm not going to force you to do it,' Mr Drummond said. 'However, as you may have noticed, we seem to be short a number of students. It would be incredibly helpful if you would at least come to a few practices. If it's really not for you, I'll find a replacement.'

Scorpius sighed. 'Fine,' he muttered. 'Thanks, sir.'

With that, he turned on his heel and walked towards the auditorium exit. Rose and Valeria fled.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey, guys! Quick note: you'll have noticed by now that there is no mention of Hogwarts or magic in this story. I just want to let you know that there won't be any mention of magic throughout the remainder of the story. The reason for this is that I'm terrible at including fantasy aspects in my stories. So Rose and Scorpius just attend a normal school and do normal teenaged muggle things.**

**I apologise for the length of this chapter. Regardless, enjoy!**

Scorpius didn't say anything about the signup sheet on the way home. In fact, he didn't really say anything. Rose guessed that it wasn't so much that he was mad – no, it was more that he knew that she had done it but he didn't want to bring it up, and that suited her.

When Scorpius pulled into the Weasley's driveway, Rose hopped out, thanked him briefly and shut the passenger seat door. Scorpius watched after the redhead as she sauntered up the driveway and up to the front door. She didn't look back at him as she opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her.

Only when Rose had closed the door did Scorpius put the truck in reverse and back out of the driveway. As it crept along the street and away from Rose's house, Scorpius couldn't help but smile a little.

**X**

'Hey, Mum,' Rose said as she entered the kitchen, where Hermione was placing something in the oven and Hugo was sitting at the table, doing nothing other than texting.

'Hello, Rosie,' Hermione responded, looking up at her daughter who sat down at the table opposite Hugo. 'How was school?'

'Well, I signed up for the play,' Rose said. 'We have auditions on Friday and they announce the roles on Monday.'

'That's wonderful, Rose,' Hermione said, smiling as she leaned against the kitchen counter. 'I'll be sure to tell your father when he gets home.'

Rose turned her attention to her little brother, who hadn't looked up from his phone. She nudged his foot underneath the kitchen table. 'Who are you texting?'

'No one,' Hugo said.

'Right, because despite you being on your phone all day every day for a week straight, you haven't been talking to anyone,' Rose said sarcastically. 'Is it a girl?'

Hugo didn't respond, and his cheeks turned pink. Rose laughed out loud. 'Oh my gosh, it is a girl, isn't it? What's her name, then?'

'Shut up, Rose,' Hugo blushed. Rose giggled at her younger brother's embarrassment.

At that moment, Rose's father stepped through the front door and into the kitchen. He greeted his wife with a peck on the cheek and then stood beside Hugo.

'What's with all the laughing?' he asked, wearing his usual grin.

'Hugo fancies someone,' Rose teased.

Hugo glared up at her, his face almost as red as his hair. Ron chuckled and ruffled his son's hair.

'Oh, is that who you've been messaging for the past week now?' Ron asked his son.

'Lay off, Rose,' Hugo said, irritated, but he was trying to hold back a smile.

Rose laughed again. 'Don't be so touchy,' she said.

'What about you then, Rose? Fancy anybody?' Hugo taunted back. Rose scoffed.

'Please,' she said. 'You yourself should know that every guy at school is either a jerk, taken, or totally not my type.'

'Of course I know that, Rose,' Hugo replied sarcastically. 'Because I frequently observe the guys in your year and analyse their personality and whether or not they are your 'type'.'

'I knew it,' Rose mocked. She laughed, along with Hugo. Ron grinned and Hermione smiled as they listened to their children's banter.

The timer on the oven dinged and the family arranged themselves around the dinner table as Rose's smiling mother placed the meal on the kitchen table.


	6. Chapter 6

Friday had come and gone, and auditions for the play had been held. Rose wasn't nervous beforehand; she had confidence in her acting skills.

It was Monday morning, and when Scorpius and Rose arrived at school, the first thing that Rose did was check the notice board beside the performing arts office. Her eyes scrolled carefully through the list of names.

There were a small number of people that had gotten a minor role in the play who hadn't signed up the week before. That was always the way. Rose found her name and checked the name of the character beside it – Beatrice.

_Not bad_, Rose thought to herself. She checked which characters her friends were playing. Valeria had the role of Ursula, one of Hero's waiting women; Beau was to play Don Pedro, the nobleman from Aragon; and Scorpius had somehow received the role of Benedick.

Rose scrunched her nose at seeing this. She couldn't quite remember what it was that happened at the end of the play, but she remembered that it was something to do with Beatrice and Benedick. She supposed that she would have to wait until the first rehearsal to see.

Suddenly, a tall figure approached her from behind, and she heard a deep voice talking to her.

'Beatrice,' the voice said. 'Not bad.'

Rose whirled around. Before her stood Seth Green – not exactly the most popular or handsome guy at school, but with short brown hair and emerald green eyes, he was pretty cute.

'Thanks,' Rose replied. 'I see you didn't get such a bad role yourself, Claudio.'

Seth shrugged, half smirking. 'What can I say? I'm a natural.'

Rose grinned. 'You're so modest, too,' she joked. Seth laughed softly.

The bell rang and Seth looked up at his friends, who were leaning against the brick wall of a classroom waiting for him, over Rose's shoulder. He looked back down at Rose.

'I'd better get going,' he said. 'I'll see you at Thursday's rehearsal then, hey? Look forward to workin' with you.'

With that, he walked past Rose to join his friends.

Rose made her way in the opposite direction to find Valeria and Beau.

**X**

'Don Pedro?' Beau asked, furrowing his brow. 'Who's he, then?'

Rose explained Beau's character to him. 'He's pretty much the most socially and politically powerful character in the play.'

'Right,' Beau said.

'Aw, good job, baby,' Valeria said, squeezing Beau's arm affectionately. She hadn't been too fussed about having a minor role in the production. In fact, with her gentle and withdrawn nature, Valeria had been thankful that she didn't get given a principal character.

Beau wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

'What part did Scorpius get, then?' Valeria asked Rose.

'Benedick,' Rose replied, wrinkling her nose. 'I don't know how. Maybe Mr Drummond pitied him for not having signed himself up.'

'Well, at least you won't have to pretend to dislike him,' Valeria pointed out. 'All you have to do is just put on a British accent and then do what you'd normally do.'

Rose laughed. Valeria was right. Witty banter with Scorpius was what Rose was best at.

'That is, until the end of the play,' Valeria continued.

'Oh, yeah, I was going to ask you to remind me what happens,' Rose said.

'Well,' Valeria said, hiding a smirk. 'Beatrice and Benedick end up getting married.'


	7. Chapter 7

Finally, it was Thursday evening and time for the small group's first rehearsal. It was a short rehearsal, involving only a read through the script.

The time passed quickly and the reading was practically mistake free. However, when the rest of the group were dismissed, Mr Drummond asked Scorpius and Rose to stay behind.

'Is there a problem, sir?' Rose asked politely, despite already knowing what he was going to say. Rose's reading had been great, up until she and Scorpius had to act affectionately towards each other.

'Oh, it's nothing too big,' Mr Drummond said. 'It's just that your expression was noticeably less at the end of the reading than in the beginning – what happened?'

Rose opened her mouth before Scorpius could. 'Nothing, sir, I was just feeling a little tired.'

'Well, I'd like to see an improvement before next week, please. If you could get together over the weekend or over next week and run lines together, that would be great.'

Scorpius let an exaggerated sigh escape his lips and at hearing it Rose rolled her eyes.

'That will be all,' Mr Drummond said. 'You are dismissed.'

**X**

'So, when are we doing this, then?' Scorpius asked on the way home.

Rose looked up from her phone at Scorpius. 'What?' she said.

'Practice,' Scorpius said as he watched the road, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other supporting his head. 'Reading lines together. When are we going to do it?'

'You actually _want_ to do this?' Rose asked him in disbelief.

'What do you think?' Scorpius rolled his eyes.

'Well, then let's just not and say that we did.'

'What are you, twelve?' Scorpius said, looking at her like she was an idiot.

Now it was Rose's turn to roll her eyes. 'Neither of us wants to do it. What's the point?'

'Rose, I don't want to do it any more than you do,' Scorpius said. 'But you're the one who put my name down for this stupid thing and I'm not allowed to leave, so I might as well try.'

Rose didn't reply. She was slightly taken aback that Scorpius had mentioned that. She had almost forgotten that she had put his name down.

Scorpius turned his head to her. 'So, does Monday work, then?'

Rose sighed. 'Fine,' she said, waving it off and turning back to her phone.

'Great,' Scorpius said. 'Tuesday, too.'

'God, I have to spend _two_ afternoons with you?' Rose scoffed.

'You got me into this, you suffer the consequences. Deal with it.'

'Whatever,' Rose said. 'Fine, Tuesday too.'

Scorpius pulled up in front Rose's house and she got out of the truck, throwing her bag over her shoulder and tossing her scarlet hair, and went inside the house.

**X**

'So, are you actually going to do it?' Valeria asked Rose on the phone that night. 'Practice your lines with Scorpius, I mean?'

Rose lay back on her bed, holding her receiver to her ear. 'Yeah,' she replied. 'He practically forced me into it. He said that seeing as I was the one who put his name on the signup sheet, I have to 'suffer the consequences'.'

'Bummer,' Valeria said. 'When are you guys practicing, then?'

'Monday and Tuesday.'

'He's making you spend _two _days with him?' Valeria said.

'That's what I thought!' Rose told her.

'I was going to ask you if you wanted to come shopping with me on Tuesday, too.' Valeria said, sounding disappointed.

Rose let out a frustrated noise. 'I guess I'll just tell him that we have to change it to Wednesday, then.'

Valeria agreed with this idea. After another few minutes of talking, Valeria's cell phone chimed with a message from Beau. 'Rose, Beau's texting, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?'

The girls said their goodbyes, and Rose clicked off the receiver.


	8. Chapter 8

The weekend ended quickly, and while school on Monday had dragged on, the final bell finally rang, echoing throughout the empty hallway. Rose ambled out of her last class, made her way to her locker, and eventually began walking to meet Scorpius at the theatre entrance.

He was leaning against the wall by the door, his script in his hand, arms folded across his defined chest muscles. 'Oh, hey,' he said, acting surprised when Rose walked up to him. 'You actually showed up.'

'Shut up, Scorpius,' Rose snapped. 'Let's just get this over and done with.'

**X**

It was five o'clock before Scorpius finally decided that it was time for him to leave. The practice had been fine. Rose saw no need for another two hour recital with Scorpius on Wednesday. But he was adamant on the idea of having a second practice. Knowing that she wouldn't win, Rose just accepted it. At least the first one was over.

The next afternoon, the girls caught the bus from school to the shopping centre. They walked around, looking for deals in all their favourite stores and eventually decided that they were hungry and stopped by the food court to pick up some dinner.

When they had found a table and sat down to begin eating, Rose spotted a familiar face amongst the crowd. He noticed her back and gave a grin and a small wave. Rose waved back.

Valeria noticed and turned around to see who her friend was waving at. Despite the many others in the food court, Valeria managed to spot the chocolate brown haired, sparkling emerald-eyed amateur actor. She turned back to Rose. 'Is that Seth Green?'

Rose bobbed her head once.

'Invite him over to sit with us,' Valeria suggested.

Following her friend's orders, Rose caught eye contact with Seth and beckoned him over. He pushed through the crowd to make his way to their table. 'Hey, Seth,' said Valeria with a welcoming smile.

'Hello, ladies,' Seth said, flashing a charming grin at Rose.

'I didn't at all suspect that you would be the type to go shopping,' Rose teased. Seth chuckled softly.

'I just got off work,' he replied, gesturing towards the store in which he worked. 'I'm getting some dinner before I go home, because it's likely that my parents won't be home for another few hours and I can't cook a meal to save my life.'

Valeria and Rose laughed. They made small talk for a few minutes before Seth checked his watch and excused himself. 'I'd better get going,' he said. 'I'll see you on Thursday at rehearsals. Take care, ladies.'

With the corners of his mouth pulled into a smirk, Seth winked at Rose and turned to walk off. Rose watched him go.

'He so likes you,' Valeria said once Seth was out of earshot. She brushed her hair out of her face and took a sip from her milkshake, grinning.

'What?' Rose scoffed. 'Get out.'

'Seriously,' Valeria continued. 'It's so obvious. The way he talks to you, the way he looks at you. I mean, he winked at you. How can you not tell?'

'He winked at both of us,' Rose said, shaking her head and looking down at her nails.

'What are you, blind?' Valeria mocked. 'I don't know what you saw, Rose, but I can tell you that he was looking directly at you. The wink was to you.'

'Really?' Rose said, a smile breaking out on her face.

'Aw, does someone have a crush?' Valeria kidded.

'Shut up,' Rose said.

'I don't blame you, dude. He is totally hot,' Valeria said. 'I say, hook in.'

'You're kidding,' Rose said. 'What do you want me to do?'

'I don't know,' Valeria shrugged. 'You've had more boyfriends than I have. Give him your number or something.'

'I guess,' Rose replied.

'Or ask him if he wants to hang out some time.'

'Ugh, that's so cheesy, Val.'

'Okay, don't make it a question,' Valeria joked.

Rose laughed. 'You're insane. I'm not going to force him into meeting me somewhere, gosh.'

Valeria grinned. 'Well, I don't know. Just give him your number and tell him to call you. That's what Beau did when we first met.'

Rose wrinkled her nose. 'How very _nineties _of him,' she said.

'Then don't do anything, what the hell do you want from me!'

'Fine,' Rose said. 'I'll give him my number. Calm down, woman.'

**X**

The next day after school, Seth – literally – bumped into Rose in the hall way. She stumbled back, but he grabbed her wrist and steadied her.

'Shit, I'm so sorry!' he said. 'Are you okay?'

'Yeah, I'm fine,' Rose said back. 'Gosh, I'm no pansy, Seth. It was just a bump.'

Seth smiled at her humour. He motioned for his friends to leave the two alone, which they did, and began walking with Rose down the hall to her locker.

He leaned against the locker beside hers as she opened the lock and pulled out her books for the subjects for which she had homework, placing them in her bag. She thought about what Valeria had said about giving Seth her number, and as she decided to do it, he interrupted her.

'By the way, I was wondering if you wanted to catch up some time over the weekend,' he said. 'To, you know, run lines or whatever.'

Rose smiled. 'I'd love to,' she said.

'Great,' Seth grinned. He gave her his address and his number, lest she change her mind. 'Did you need a lift home now?'

'Actually, I have to stay back for practice with Scorpius,' Rose said. 'Thank you, though.'

'No worries,' Seth responded. 'I'll see you tomorrow, then.'

**X**

The second rehearsal with Scorpius was tedious but, like the first one, there was nothing wrong with the reading. Scorpius suggested that they act the scenes out – as best they could without props or other actors, that is. Rose agreed.

As they were acting through the script a second time, however, something happened. Something that made Rose's stomach lurch. They were growing close to the wedding scene, although it had not arrived yet, when Scorpius leaned forward and kissed Rose flush on the mouth. She was so surprised that she immediately jerked backwards, and stumbled backwards.

Scorpius held out his hand to help her up, but she ignored it and pushed herself up off the ground. 'What was that?' she demanded, her face flushing, her breath growing heavy.

Scorpius shrugged hesitantly. 'I don't know,' he muttered.

'Wha – I … Scorpius, that wasn't in the script,' Rose said. Scorpius didn't say anything, biting his lip and looking down at the floor instead. 'Uh, I-I'd better go.'

Rose walked out of the theatre and made her way outside. Her cheeks were burning and she felt dizzy. What had just happened?

Scorpius had kissed her.

She didn't know how she was going to get home, but at this point she didn't really care. She could call Seth, but decided against it. She chose, instead, to make her way home on foot.

Back in the theatre, Scorpius hung his head. _What the fuck was that? Idiot,_ he hissed at himself. He hit the palm of his hand against the wall, hard, and left for home.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry this has taken so long, guys! Today was my first day of holidays. Hopefully, I'll be able to upload a bit more often now that I'm off school, but I'm just letting you know that I'm taking a vacation to Europe for a month in a few days.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys are still enjoying this. I feel like my chapters are getting weaker. I'll try my best to keep writing though; I don't want to give up on this story! Reviews would be dandy. Enjoy!**

'He _kissed_ you?!' Valeria screeched over the phone. Rose pulled the receiver away from her ear, wincing at the volume of her friend's squeal.

'Yes,' she answered, her voice a monotone.

'What did you do?'

'I just left. What was I supposed to do?' Rose fell back onto her bed with an 'oof', her scarlet curls splayed out on the covers beneath her.

Valeria paused. 'Did you like it?'

'Ew, Val!' Rose cried. Valeria giggled.

'It's okay, I won't tell anyone,' she said. 'Was it good? Can he kiss?'

'Valeria –'

'How was it, on a scale of one to ten?'

Rose heaved a sigh, knowing that Valeria wouldn't cave in until she heard an answer. 'Eight.'

Valeria squealed again until Rose shushed her. 'Sorry,' she said sheepishly. 'Wait, so if you liked it, what's the problem?'

'It's Scorpius! It's weird,' Rose responded. 'I mean, we've known each other for like, years, and he's never showed any kind of feelings for me. And now he just pounces on me out of nowhere? It's just going to make things awkward.'

'So what are you going to do?' Valeria asked.

'God, I don't even know,' Rose groaned, holding her palm to her forehead. 'Am I supposed to act like nothing happened, or completely avoid him?'

'Maybe you should just see how he is tomorrow,' Valeria advised, suddenly very serious. 'If being around him is weird, then maybe you should avoid seeing him.'

'Oh, Val,' Rose said dramatically, putting her hand on her heart. 'So wise.'

'Oh, you,' Valeria grinned. 'Did you want a lift from school tomorrow then?'

'No, that's okay,' Rose said. 'I have someone else that I can call.'

'Would his name happen to be _Seth_?' Valeria mocked.

'Why, yes,' Rose replied, acting astounded. 'However did you know?'

'Oh, just a hunch. It has _absolutely_ nothing to do with the fact that you text each other all the time and he's your only topic of discussion.'

'Oh, shush,' Rose said, grinning. Valeria laughed. 'Anyway, I'd better let you go. I'm sure Beau misses you. It's been what, an hour since you two last spoke?'

'Quiet, you,' Valeria said. 'I can't help it if I'm irresistible.'

Rose chuckled. 'Alright, see you tomorrow.'

'Let me know if Seth can't pick you up, or if you change your mind, okay? Talk later.'

Rose hung up the home phone and picked up her mobile. She scrolled through her contacts until she found the name she was looking for, and pressed call.

The redhead sat up on her bed and crossed her legs as the ringing stopped. 'Hello, Seth?'

**X**

Deciding that Rose had to let Scorpius know not to pick her up or drop her off anymore, she chose to send him a text to avoid any awkward silences that a phone call would provide. She was being short with him, and she knew it. But to be honest, she didn't really care as long as she didn't have to face him.

So she reached for her mobile and sent him a message:

_Don't worry about driving me around tomorrow; Seth has offered to take me to and from school from now on._

**X**

The next morning, Seth pulled into the Weasley's driveway. Rose, who had been watching out the window, sprung up off the couch and hurried out the front door. She climbed into the passenger seat of Seth's car.

'Good morning,' he said, flashing her a half smile.

'Hey,' Rose smiled back.

'So, what happened to Scorpius?' Seth asked as he put the car in reverse and backed onto the road.

'Oh, nothing,' Rose replied sweetly. 'I just thought that, after taking me to and from school every day for the past couple of years, he deserved a break.'

Seth raised his eyebrow at Rose. 'Fair enough,' he said, sounding unconvinced.

For the rest of the ride, they spoke about nothing but the play.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry for leaving you guys hanging for so long.**

**Before I post this chapter I just want to say that while I was away I read through the earlier chapters of this story and decided that I wasn't completely happy with it, so I'll be editing the chapters and re-uploading it. Don't worry, though, I'm not taking it down.**

**Enjoy!**

Rose continued to carpool to and from school with Seth every day, until one morning Scorpius' pickup truck pulled into her driveway.

Rose's face fell when, through the window, she saw the white truck pulling up. 'God,' she groaned, getting up off the couch and making her way out the front. 'What is he doing here?'

She strode over to the driver's side and Scorpius rolled down the window.

'What do you want?' Rose asked impatiently.

'Good morning to you too, sunshine,' Scorpius replied sarcastically.

'I'm not in the mood Scorpius,' Rose huffed. 'Seth will be here any minute to take me to school –'

'I told him not to come,' Scorpius said casually.

'Excuse me? Rose demanded.

'Rose, you know that this isn't going to just go away. There's no point in avoiding me for the rest of your life. Get in,' he gestured towards the passenger door.

'What if I don't?' Rose said, folding her arms across her chest and looking up at the arrogant blonde, an eyebrow raised.

'I'm not leaving this driveway until you get in, and we don't want to risk ruining Miss Weasley's perfect attendance now, do we?'

Rose sighed in frustration. Scorpius had a point; Rose _did_ have perfect attendance, and she was certainly not going to put a mark on her record by showing up late. Muttering a string of curses under her breath, Rose climbed into the truck.

Ten minutes of driving later, Scorpius pulled into the almost empty car park of a small shopping centre and took the key out of the ignition. He turned to Rose.

'What the hell are you doing?' Rose said.

'We need to talk about this,' Scorpius told her. Rose had never seen him this serious before.

'Don't be stupid,' Rose shook her head, frowning. 'Just take me to school. I don't want to be late.'

'Rose, I am not turning this car back on until we talk. The sooner this is over with, the sooner you can get to school.'

Rose rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration. 'You are so fucking irritating, you know that? What do you want me to say then?' she snapped.

'Why did you react like that when I kissed you?' Scorpius asked, and stared closely at her as he waited for an answer.

Rose looked at him in disbelief. Was he daft?

'What do you mean "why did you react like that"? Are you kidding me? Scorpius, in the entire fucking time that we have known each other, not once have you made it apparent that you might like me. And now, out of nowhere, you just kiss me? How did you expect me to react? What the hell was I supposed to do? Kiss you back and fall in love with you and get married and ride off into the sunset on a valiant steed and live happily ever after? Well, guess what? That's not how life works.'

Scorpius looked slightly stunned at Rose's sudden outburst.

'Rose,' he said softly. 'I'm sorry. I am. I know it was really sudden, but it wasn't at all out of the blue. I … I'm in love with you, Rose.'

'Scorpius.'

'I am, I'm in love with you. I've loved you for a long time. I guess just being in that room alone with you … I don't know, it was too much. You looked stunning, I _had_ to kiss you. It was like I couldn't hide it any longer.'

Rose didn't reply. She sat, leaning her back against the passenger door the truck, staring at Scorpius in surprise. He had never spoken this way to her before. She was speechless. Scorpius continued.

'Seeing you with that Seth guy … I couldn't deal with it. Do you have any idea what it's like to feel so strongly for someone who doesn't even care about you; to think about someone all the time and know that they don't once think of you? I wouldn't expect that you do, Rose. You get every guy you want. Well, I'll save you the trouble of finding out. It sucks. It's absolutely shit, and I couldn't handle it any more.

'Do you know why I wanted you to listen to those songs so badly? It's because when you like someone, you want to share things with them. You want them to know what you like, and you want them to like it too.' His voice seemed to be rising with each sentence he spoke. 'I'm sorry that I did what I did, Rose, honestly, and if you hated it that much, and if I've really messed things up then I promise that I won't bother you anymore.'

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing. She sat in silence for a moment, trying to comprehend what had just happened. After a moment's thought, she said, 'Wait a second. What about all those girls that you went through; Katelyn, Georgia, Felicity? Why did you date them?'

'I was trying to get you off of my mind, moron,' Scorpius said, his voice quiet again. He smirked playfully. 'I had hoped that maybe being with someone else would put a stop to my feelings for you. It didn't not for a single minute.'

'Scorpius, I – I can't believe it.' Rose said. A few moments ago she had felt nothing but irritation towards Scorpius, and now she couldn't help but feel guilty. 'I'm sorry.'

Scorpius looked up at her. 'I wasn't expecting to hear that,' he said.

'I'm full of surprises,' Rose replied jokingly.

Scorpius half smiled at her. 'Do you mind if we maybe try again?'

Rose looked down at her hands, unsure of what to say.

'If you honestly don't feel anything, Rose, then I swear I will leave you alone.'

Rose looked back at up Scorpius. For a moment she stared at him, still not knowing what to say. His smoky grey eyes looked longingly at her. She sighed, and nodded. 'Okay.'

Scorpius grinned. He took her hands in his and gently coaxed her towards him, leaning in slightly. When he pressed his lips to hers, a flurry of butterflies formed inside her stomach, curling and twisting and dancing around. Scorpius let go of her hands and lightly placed his palm on her waist; she responded by moving her free hand to his neck. Rose moved closer to Scorpius, allowing her other hand to rest on his shoulder. He tightened his grip around her, pulling her into him.

After a short while, Scorpius pulled out of the kiss slowly and Rose opened her eyes to look at him.

'Was that better?' he asked, his voice almost a whisper.

Rose nodded, smiling. 'Nine and a half,' she said.

'What?' Scorpius asked.

'Nothing. We should get going.'

As the truck cruised along, Rose watched out of her window. Everything looked the same as it did on any other day; the trees, the houses, the cars. But it wasn't the same. It was very, very different.

**X**

When they pulled up at school, the morning bell had just gone. People were scurrying around the school grounds to make their way to class. The parking lot was practically free of people. Scorpius parked right at the back anyway, with the front of the truck facing away from the school entrance. He placed his hand on top of Rose's on the seat of the truck. 'I guess I'll see you later.'

'Yeah,' Rose said. She really wanted to kiss him again, but to kiss him here would definitely be too risky. 'Scorpius?'

He looked up at her. 'Do you mind if we keep this on the down low for a little while? Like, us?' She asked.

'That's probably a good idea, at least until we figure things out properly.' Scorpius agreed.

With that, the two hopped out of the car and made their way separately to class.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Again, I'm back! Words cannot express how sorry I am about not continuing this for so long. Trust me; I've wanted to write for ages now. School kept me very busy and even when I wasn't busy I seemed to be lacking the motivation and any ideas for another chapter. But here is an attempt at a new chapter. If you guys could leave reviews, that'd be grand. Also, I edited the first chapter and made some small changes to suit some of your suggestions. Thanks.**

**PS: smut warning. If you don't like it, don't read it.**

'Scorpius, excellent work today. See you all on Monday!' Mr Drummond called as the cast exited the theatre. There were more members now, although still not enough to fill all the roles.

Rose walked by Scorpius on her way out of the theatre but decided that even a smile at him would cause anyone who saw to ask questions, and so she didn't glance at him. Scorpius understood.

Valeria quickened her pace to catch up to Rose. 'Hey, slow down there,' she said as she began walking alongside her friend.

'Oh, sorry,' Rose said, not realising that she had been walking so quickly.

'What was up with Scorpius today? He seemed really _into_ the play,' Valeria asked quietly, glancing back at Scorpius.

Rose shrugged, feigning perplexity. 'Beats me,' she said. 'Hey, want to come over this weekend?'

'Yeah, sounds good,' Valeria said. 'I'll see you then.'

**X**

'Could you pull in here?' Rose gestured to the deserted parking lot of a large football oval. It was raining heavily, so there was no one else around, and Rose couldn't wait any longer to kiss Scorpius again.

'What's wrong? Are you okay?' Scorpius asked, concerned, as he pulled into the parking lot, thinking that perhaps she had asked him to park because she was going to be sick or something. She looked fine, though (or better than fine, actually).

'Yeah, I just couldn't wait any longer.' Rose told him.

'Couldn't wait any longer?' Scorpius asked.

Without another word, Rose moved forward and kissed Scorpius on the lips. He was a little startled but eased into the kiss within no time. He shifted so that he was facing her, his hands on the small of her back. Rose got up on her hands and knees and pushed Scorpius back against the window, kissing him hard. He gave a sigh of satisfaction as the girl climbed over him, kissing him ravenously.

Rose stopped kissing him for a moment to look at him, and then caught his bottom lip between her teeth, dragging them across it. His breathing picked up. Rose got up off of him.

'Sit up straight,' she told him, and he did. She put one leg over his lap so that she was straddling him. She leaned down to kiss him again and he wrapped his arms around her body tight. As they made out Rose could feel his growing erection pressing against the area between her legs and it turned her on. Her hips began to move forward and back against him. She groaned against his mouth.

He pulled back, grinning. 'Wow, someone's a little excited.'

'You like it,' she said. 'Right?' she added, a little less confidently.

'God, yes,' Scorpius said. 'I could do this all day.' and he kissed her again. His hands moved – one to the front of her denim jeans and one to the back. He grazed his fingertips over the fabric at the front, using his other hand to squeeze and knead around the back.

As Rose's legs were stretched out over Scorpius' lap, however, the denim was not against her skin and made it impossible to feel anything. Scorpius noticed her lack of response. 'You don't feel that, do you?' Rose shook her head. 'Then let's try this.'

Scorpius put his hands on Rose's hips and helped lift her off of his lap, setting her down next to him. He kissed her again, and his hand moved down to the button of her jeans. He stopped kissing her but stayed very close, and asked, 'Do you want to?' Rose did.

He undid the button of her jeans and unzipped the zipper, and pulled them down a little so he was able to get to her panties. He brushed his fingers across the front. Rose gasped a little. She pushed her jeans down a little more so that she could open her legs a little wider. Scorpius kissed her again as he continued to brush his hand over her. 'You're so wet,' he observed, his finger running over the soaked fabric.

'Yeah,' Rose breathed. She didn't know what else to say. She put her hand on the nape of his neck and pulled his face close to his, kissing him yet again. God, he was sexy. She didn't want to stop. He rubbed her gently _down there_ until she couldn't take it anymore, writhing against his hand to get more friction. 'Go beneath.' she said.

'What was that?' Scorpius asked.

'Go beneath,' Rose repeated. 'Please.'

Scorpius obliged, pulling her panties down slowly. She was sopping. Scorpius lightly ran his fingers around her clit in circles and she moaned. He ran his fingers down from her clit to her opening, and pushed a finger in. Rose gasped. 'Okay?' Scorpius asked. Rose nodded.

'Keep going,' she told him. He pulled the finger out and then thrust it back in. He repeated this until she said. 'More.'

'What?'

'Put another in.'

Scorpius again pulled his finger back out, this time thrusting two back in. Rose moaned. Scorpius continued this action at a rhythmic but slow pace. He picked up speed as Rose began to writhe around and her moans got louder. 'Don't stop. Shit, don't stop.' she breathed, her eyes closed, head thrown back. Scorpius kissed her as she hit her climax. She moaned against his lips. He kept thrusting but slowed down as Rose rode out her orgasm.

Eventually he pulled out of her. All she could do was pant as he brought his fingers to his lips, putting them in his mouth, tasting her. 'Mm, you taste good.' he said, smirking.

'Fuck, Scorpius. That,' she said. 'was amazing.'

She pulled on her jeans as Scorpius started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot. It was still pouring, and there was no one around. Scorpius drove Rose home.

'See you tomorrow,' he said as Rose opened the car door.

'Yeah,' Rose replied. 'If I can last that long.'

**X**

'Val, I have to tell you something,' Rose said over the sound effects of the movie they were watching.

Valeria looked at Rose. 'What's wrong?'

Rose put her mug of hot chocolate down on the coffee table and picked up the remote, pressing pause on the movie. 'It's … it's about. Um. It's kind of about Scorpius.'

'What about Scorpius?' Valeria asked slowly, looking bemused.

Rose sighed and looked down at her hands, trying to find the right way to tell her friend. 'Well,' she started. 'Um.'

Valeria raised her eyebrows. 'What?' she pressed.

'I mean, we're kind of …' Dating wasn't exactly the right word. 'We're kind of seeing each other.'

Valeria choked. 'I – what – you and – since when – oh my God – how – TELL ME.'

So Rose did. She told Val everything that happened on that morning Scorpius had hijacked Rose and forced her to talk about it, up until that Thursday after school when they had gone to the deserted oval in the rain – leaving out detail, of course.

'Holy shit, Rose. I had no idea you even liked him.' Valeria said.

'Me neither,' Rose shrugged. 'Oh, and you can't tell _anybody_ about this, okay? Not Beau, not Olivia or Louisiana or Rachel. Not anyone from the play. Not even your cat. _Do not tell anyone_. Promise?'

'I don't think Misty would care, Rose,' Valeria joked. 'But I promise.'

'Thanks,' Rose said, and un-paused the movie. For a moment the two girls sat in silence.

'Holy shit, though,' Val suddenly said. 'Like … holy shit.'

Rose laughed. 'Val,' she said.

'I can't help it! Holy shit, woman!'

'I know.'

More silence.

'Hey Rose?'

Rose looked at Val, who said, 'I think I kind of knew.'

'What do you mean?' Rose asked. 'You knew and you didn't say anything to me?'

'Well, I mean I didn't know that I knew. But I knew. I could tell. That he liked you, anyway. You can kind of see it in every move he makes around you, and in everything he says. But I just didn't register it I guess.'

Rose thought about it. It was true.

'Does this mean I have to start' – Valeria shuddered – '_talking_ to him?'

'No,' Rose said. 'We're keeping it private for now. You're the only person who knows.'

Valeria put her hand on her heart dramatically. 'I'm flattered.'


	12. Chapter 12

The following Wednesday morning, Rose's English teacher was late to class. That was unlike him. Rose wondered what could have happened. Nonetheless, she did not waste this opportunity.

Rose took her usual seat and was in the process of sending a message to Valeria when she heard a deep, familiar voice coming from behind her. 'Hey there, stranger.'

The redhead turned around to see Seth standing behind her, holding his books in one hand, his other hand thrust into his front pocket. 'Oh, hey Seth,' she said pleasantly.

Seth gestured towards the seat beside Rose, seeking her permission to sit there. Rose nodded briskly in response and finished composing her message to Val.

'How've things been with you?' Seth asked. 'I've not heard from you in a while.'

Rose locked her phone and slipped it into her pocket, looking up at Seth. 'Oh, nothing really,' she told him. 'I've just been busy lately with all the homework we've been getting, as well as preparing for the performance.'

Seth bobbed his head. 'I was wondering if you were busy on Saturday,' he said. 'I'm going to a friend's party and thought that you might like to be my plus-one?'

'That'd be great,' Rose said, quickly adding, 'But I'm expected to help out my aunt and uncle on Saturday. They're moving houses next week. My parents and I are going over to help them start the process.'

'Did you want me to come along and assist you guys?' Seth asked.

'I certainly don't want to make you miss out on this fabulous party of your friend's,' Rose smiled.

Seth smiled back. 'It will be pretty great. Well, would you like a lift home from school today?'

Rose sighed inaudibly. If she declined his offer, Seth was going to start asking questions. Like, "Why are you blowing me off now when you were totally into me before?" If Rose accepted his proposal, Scorpius would be mad. Wouldn't he? He did say that he hated seeing Rose with Seth, and that was _before_ they were together.

'Are you sure, Seth?' Rose said, hoping that he would suddenly remember that he had a doctor's appointment scheduled for straight after school or something. 'Scorpius can take me home.'

'I know,' Seth said. 'I just thought that maybe I could give him a break today. He's been taking you to and from school for a couple of weeks now.'

Rose smiled. It was sweet of him to offer. 'Okay,' she told Seth. 'If you're sure, that would be nice.'

X

'Scorpius,' Rose said to the tall blonde by a way of greeting. He closed his locker and turned to her, flashing a brief smile.

'Hey, what's going on?' he said quietly.

'I'm going home with Seth today.'

Scorpius' face wrinkled in confusion. 'What? Um, why?'

'Listen, he was asking me in English today if I was free this weekend. I told him no. But if I turned down his offer to drive home with you, he was going to get suspicious.'

'So, what,' Scorpius said. 'He's your mode of transport from now on?'

'No,' Rose shook her head. 'It's not like that. He's only taking me today.'

'You can't lead him on like this,' Scorpius told her. 'He likes you. For God's sake, Rose.'

'I'm not trying to lead him on,' Rose answered.

'Oh, really? Well, you agreeing on being in a car alone with him for fifteen minutes is telling me otherwise,' Scorpius snapped, making sure to keep his voice down. 'Don't forget that he thinks you're single.'

'Scorpius, _I know_,' Rose said.

'And it's not like you've told him to back off, have you?'

'How do you propose I tell him that?' Rose demanded. 'Before _this_, he and I kind of had a thing—or have you forgotten? And since he doesn't know about _this_, if I just _lose _interest in him, he's going to start to wonder what's happened.'

Scorpius shook his head. 'Okay, Rose,' he said calmly. 'Do what you like.' With that, he turned and walked away.

X

'Are you okay?' Seth asked Rose. The drive home had been practically silent. Rose couldn't stop thinking about her conversation with Scorpius. She was angry at the way he reacted. Didn't he understand?

Rose lifted her head from her palm and looked at Seth. 'Yeah, sorry,' she said, putting her hands into her lap.

'Is something bothering you?' Seth asked as he flicked on the indicator and turned the corner.

Rose shook her head. 'No,' she said. 'I'm just a little tired.'

'Okay,' Seth said, sensing her irritation; not at him, necessarily. He did not try to speak to her again until they got home.

'Thanks for the ride home, Seth,' Rose said as she opened the car door. 'I appreciate it.'

'Don't mention it,' he told her. 'I'll see you tomorrow at rehearsals.'

_Fuck._


End file.
